Crest House, the combination restaurant, gift shop and observation point, at the summit of Mount Evans was completed in August 1941. The popular Colorado landmark opened every year from Memorial Day to Labor Day — until 1979 when it was destroyed in a propane explosion. After the September 1 explosion, the building was a total loss with only the rock walls left standing.

Constructed in 1940-41, Colorado architect Edwin Francis collaborated with builder Justus Roehling on the Crest House design. It was built with private capital under a Forest Service special permit, and was the highest commercial structure in the United States.

A naming contest in 1941 sponsored by the Mount Evans Company, owners of the Crest House, generated over 1,600 name suggestions from 22 states. Mrs. Mayme Taylor of Denver won and was awarded $25 for her entry of “Mountain Evans Crest House.”

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Brown Palace Hotel, circa 1892 - 1910.

The summer of 1892 proved exciting for Denver. The economy boomed, the highly anticipated Brown Palace neared completion and the city hosted the Triennial Conclave of the Knights Templar.

That August, thousands swarmed into Denver for the convention. The hotels that hadn’t already been booked quickly filled. With no rooms available, the convention committee begged residents to take lodgers into their homes.

As a result of the influx, on August 6, the Brown Palace opened the unfinished hotel to accomodate the Templars. They provided a few rooms, many sleeping cots in the hallways and a lavish banquet — while workers labored continually on the building.

It wasn’t until the next week, on August 12, with preparations completed that the hotel opened to accept the public. Room rates varied from $1, $2 and $3 per night up to $4.50 for the best 100 rooms in the hotel.

The Templar banquet, served in the eighth floor ballroom, included seven courses. The menu, pictured below, offered entrees of Loin of Elk, Roast Rib of Beef and Lamb with Mint Sauce.

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Brown Palace Hotel Menu. August 6, 1892.

(Click on the menu to enlarge.)

Henry C. Brown, a carpenter, contractor and developer, built the Brown Palace. He arrived in Denver with his wife and son in a wagon drawn by oxen in 1860. After setting up a carpentry shop on what is now the Brown Palace site, he erected his first Denver building, a Methodist Church that was swept away in the 1864 Cherry Creek flood. Brown homesteaded the land we call Capitol Hill and sold it off piece by piece to become quite wealthy.

He operated the Denver Tribune for several years, constructed many mansions (including one occupied by Mrs. Augusta Tabor), donated 10 acres for the state capitol site, helped organize the Denver Tramway Company and contributed $1,000 for the construction of Denver’s first public library.

Brown did well until the silver crash of 1893, the year after the Brown Palace opened. With fortunes reversed, he had difficulty paying his debts. When foreclosure became inevitable, Brown sold his mortgage to Winfield Scott Stratton, a Cripple Creek gold mine millionaire, for $600,000 and the assurance that Brown could live in the hotel for the remainder of his life.

The hotel has had numerous owners in its 120 years, including Charles Boettcher, and its elegance is known around the world. Some of the Brown Palace’s famous clientele include Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Clinton. Others include Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Marie of Romania, the Beatles, Oprah, Lowell Thomas, Jimmy Stewart and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

The $1 milion cinema at 16th Street and Cleveland Place was built by Fox Intermountain Theaters. It was the first downtown theater constructed in Denver since 1932, and the first in the world designed “expressly for CinemaScope and stereophonic sound.”

The massive green, gold, pink and silver marquee stood 60 feet wide and 100 feet tall. The theater seated 1,247, and the elaborate lobby had a columbine-decorated terrazzo floor. Gold and silver leaf plasterwork adorned both the lobby and auditorium. The movie screen, which could be adjusted to fit any format, was 28 feet high and 60 feet long.

Opening night, April 29, 1954, was sold out in advance. However, an additional 1,000 seats for fans were built in a grandstand outside the theater. This was where the celebrities were to be introduced and stage a show.

Unfortunately, there was a heavy snow that evening and the arriving celebs rushed from their cars directly into the theater. The show was moved indoors and those who had waited for hours in the cold only caught a glimpse of the stars.

Ethel Merman, who lived in Denver at the time, was mistress of ceremonies and opened with her signature “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” The others told tales and entertained. Dan Daily danced a softshoe and Tex Ritter sang a song from “High Noon.”

After the performances and a speech by Mayor Quigg Newton, the “waterfall” curtain was swept back and the movie began. The film, “River Of No Return,” starred Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe.

The Centre was sold in 1976 and leased to Mann Theatres. It was sold again in 1980 to Larken Development Group of Calgary. The theater was torn down in 1981 and Columbine Place built on its location. Columbine Place at 216 16th Street stands between the Sheraton Hotel and McDonald’s at the head of the 16th Street Mall.

Denver's new Flatiron Building, the $50,000 store and office structure of James H. Brown, at Broadway and Court Place is under construction. The building is of the Doric style of architecture. It will have every convenience and be pleasing to the eye as any of the fine office buildings in the city. October 11, 1916

Denver’s Flatiron Building at the corner of Court Place and Broadway was built in 1916-1918 by James H. Brown, son of Henry C. Brown founder of the Brown Palace Hotel. The site, which is across the street from the hotel, was originally the location of the Brown family residence. The family lived there until 1883, and the house was one of the last old residences in the business section of town.

J.B. Benedict, a well-respected Denver area architect, designed the Flatiron Building. Many of Benedict’s buildings are still in existence and are listed on the National Register, State Register or designated as Denver Local landmarks. A few include the Woodbury Branch Library in Denver, Denison Arts and Sciences Building at the University of Colorado, Carnegie Library in Littleton, Town Hall in Littleton and Rosedale Elementary School in Denver.

The three-story Flatiron Building had a terra cotta facade, 250 feet of glass frontage and 44 offices and storerooms. It was designed to be extended to six-stories, which was Brown’s plan. But within a few months of its completion in 1918, Brown sold the building to Richard Wensley of the Bogue-Wensley Lead company for $125,000.

In 1951 Continental Bus Systems negotiated to turn it into a Trailways terminal. Redesign began and by 1953 the exterior walls were replaced with redwood paneling and the windows and doors with aluminum. Continental Trailways moved to a new terminal in 1976 and eventually the old building was demolished. The site is now part of the Denver World Trade Center.